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PA Senate Lawyers Question Wolf Plan To Borrow Against Future Liquor Sales

HARRISBURG, PA (CBS) -- The spokeswoman for state Senate Republicans says their lawyers are reviewing Governor Wolf's plan to borrow more than a billion dollars to help pay for the underfunded state budget that took effect in July.

Spokeswoman Jenn Kocher says lawyers for the majority Senate Republican caucus are trying to determine the legality of the Governor's announced unilateral plan to securitize $1.25 billion  against future profits of the state liquor sale system.

"We were as shocked as anyone when the governor announced the proposal on Wednesday afternoon," said Kocher. "It wasn't something that we had the opportunity to review or weigh in on. So we are curious to see."

Kocher contends that such borrowing would have a major impact on the ability to make changes to the liquor system. She says the plan also raises issues of the balance of power in state government.

The governor's announcement came after the latest effort by lawmakers to approve a plan to fully fund the state budget, which lapsed into law in July, fell apart this past week.

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